If there’s not already some sort of underground sponsorship between ZYNs and Parker McCollum, someone has got to make this man an official brand rep ASAP.
Last night, May 17, the Limestone kid took the underdog win for Album of the Year at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards for his 2025 self-titled album. The snag came as a shock to many, including McCollum, who has even noted in the past that the album certainly didn’t stack up performance-wise to his other projects, despite being a personal favorite that was insanely cut in just a week in New York City.
Still, the feat was an outstanding moment for the “Killin’ Me” singer, who accepted the award from none other than Keith Urban, making this his third ACM award win overall. And fitting to his tried and true brand, he waltzed up onto the MGM Grand Arena stadium stage with his wintergreen pouches clenched in his hand.
This is almost as iconic as when Zach Top graced the CMA awards’ podium with a Coors banquet in his hand, but the award show accessory also kind of happens to be a full circle moment to McCollum’s first-ever ACM awards. Despite almost ten years in the country music scene, McCollum wasn’t nominated for his first ACM until 2022 for New Artist of the Year at the 57th annual show.
During the night, he also made his debut ACM performance of his 2020 single, “Pretty Heart,” which has since been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA. As a newbie, he ended up taking things pretty casually for his inaugural show, stunting in his black tee and flat-brim cap.
During an ACM interview from March 2025, he sarcastically reflected on the performance, saying, “Really dressed out for this one.” And of course, the cherry on top was his staple circle can peaking out of his jeans, “Zyns in the back pocket on live TV, you gotta love that.”
Showing he truly hasn’t changed over the years as he continues to cement himself as one of country music’s biggest artists, the Zyns made their second appearance for his big win but were miraculously passed off or tucked away while he grabbed his shiny trophy with two hands during his speech.
He also humbly thanked his team, his label, MCA, and his currently pregnant wife, Hallie Ray Light, who wiped away tears in the audience. McCollum was sure not to leave the stage before shouting out his fellow Red Dirt family, including “Koe Wetzel, Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, Pat Green, Miranda Lambert, I love you girl, Cody Johnson, thank you for talking me off an edge 18 months ago.”
One thing is certain: as McCollum keeps the high-energy momentum of 2026 rolling on his coinciding self-titled tour starting this June, be sure to watch out for his impressive Zyn pop mid-song while on stage during the string of US and his first-ever overseas dates.